Nayland College Athletics Day was held on Tuesday 3 March at the Saxton Oval Athletics Track. There were over 350 competitors on the day, ranging from Year 9 to Year 13, all competing in their respective age groups.
Although the day started with rain and was overcast, this did not deter students from delivering outstanding individual performances and also breaking some long standing historical records. It was especially heartening to see the number of juniors entered into events and the positive behaviour of the students overall. Well done to all of the athletes.
Events ranged from throwing competitions such as shot-put, discus and javelin, to jumping events such as long jump and high jump, and track events such as the 100m, 200m, and 400m.
The following historical records were broken in the junior girls section:
- Micayla Whiti – 100m (13sec) – beat the old record of 13.2sec held by Hilary Jones (2001) and Linda Cotton (1982).
- Micayla Whiti – 200m (27sec) – beat the old record of 27.4sec held by Hilary Jones (2001).
- Penelope Taulafo – shot put (8.7m) – beat the old record of 8.6m held by Janis Ruka (1987).
Micayla’s 100m time is actually equal with the fastest times in any female age group at Nayland College and her 200m time was just 0.1sec slower than the fastest ever. This would make Micayla one of the fastest girls ever in Nayland College history. Micayla is still only in Year 9.
In the senior girls section, there was also a record broken. Georgia Nicholls in the shot put made 10.1m, beating the old record of 9.39m held by Joanna Andrew (1997). The record was initially broken by Natania Ngawhau, however only moments later Georgia broke that record again.
The top age group champions were as follows:
u14 boys – Zac Logan
u14 girls – Savanah Ngawhau
u15 boys – Ethan Williams
u15 girls – Tavie Geddes
u16 boys – Jonny Noble
u16 girls – Lily Wikaira
o16 boys – Connor Johnston
o16 girls – Natania Ngawhau
By Jo Cotton
